Peat Extraction from Lake Sediments in the Northern Districts, the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic

The article The article examines the possibility of extracting sod fuel peat to replace imported coal. A possible raw material base is considered for producing molded solid peat-based fuel in permafrost conditions. The production of molded peat products in the form of sod peat is proposed as an option. The experimental work on drying sod peat shows that peat can be extracted and dried to standard moisture content in the conditions of northern Yakutia. A flowsheet of producing sod peat from lake peat by hydraulicking is presented. According to the flowsheet the peat mass is loosened, liquefied by lake water, sucked in by a dredger pump and pumped through a pulp pipeline to the shore, where it is dewatered in geotubes to the molding water content. After dewatering, the geotubes are cut and the peat mass is loaded into a peat spreader mixing the peat, forming it into cylindrical pieces, and spreading it on a drying field. When molded, the peat structure is modified chemically to obtain strong and durable products. Having reached sufficient strength, peat sods are piled in a stack supplied with a trench for artificial ventilation at its base. The peat is dried to a final moisture content of 24–30%